Antique Japanese Boro Futonji—Lattices and Stripes in Earth Tones

640.00

This is a beautiful antique Japanese boro futonji, or quilted bedding cover, comprised of a variety of hand spun and woven cotton in deep earth-tones of indigo and botanical dyes. Handsome lattices and stripes are offset by patches of variegated indigo cottons.

Cotton textiles were scarce in old Japan, and therefore valued and passed down through generations. Reinforcing these textiles with mending and sashiko stitching was a necessity, instilling a strong value of mottainai“too good to waste.”

The beautiful arrangement of patches and sashiko stitching seen here was borne out of necessity and was not likely consciously planned by the maker. Needless to say, the results are visually striking.